Kanye West was recently featured in W magazine. Writer Christopher Bagley spent time with Kanye in Paris, despite his aversion to press and interviews, watching as the rapper/creative discussed his plans for the future, his creative inspirations, and his learning process. Without further ado, here are the highlights:
- Kanye plays his music for Kris Jenner. When she greets it with "Great job!," he "sets off on a comic riff that cracks up everyone in the room. Toasting with his champagne glass, he says, “Great job, Baccarat, for making a glass that can hold liquid!” He looks down at his waist. “Great job, belt loops, for keeping my pants up!” Jenner laughs off the mockery but soon is ready to leave."
- He claims he is going to be creative director on a new Jetsons movie.
- He claims he no longer believes in dropping brand names, refusing to identify the black cotton pants or dark hoodie he wears in front of the interviewer.
- He has consulted with multiple designers (Dirand, Vervoordt, Tristan Auer) to create a space for his child North in his Paris loft, which is a "huge no-no in the design world," according to Bagley.
- People he compares himself to: Le Corbusier, The Beatles, Marlon Brando, Tiger Woods, Azzedine Alaïa, Kate Moss, and the Soup Nazi, Axl Rose, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, "among others."
- His future plans include: "Operas, stores, films, product packaging, amusement parks, and, possibly, entire cities."
- He intended Yeezus to be: like a “one-man gangbang.”
- "I Am a God" was inspired by: West was told he could only attend a major fashion designer's runway show if he agreed not to attend other shows: “Cause it’s like, Yo! Nobody can tell me where I can and can’t go. Man, I’m the No. 1 living and breathing rock star."
- He believes, contrary to what critics have said, that his first women's fashion line was better than his second.
- He explains why, despite his thirst for haute couture, he appeared on Keeping Up With the Kardashians: “Oh, that’s just all for love. It’s simply that. At a certain point, or always, love is more important than any branding, or any set of cool people, or attempting to impress anyone. Because true love is just the way you feel.”
- In a move that surprises no one, he says this is his new motto: “Now, I just do exactly what I want, whenever I want, how the fuck I want,” West says. “ ‘Fuck you’ is my message.”
[via W magazine]
